The Next Best Thing
by Tuathail
Summary: Alone and filled with longing, Aly discovers that sometimes it hurts less to settle for second best. To settle, until second best becomes the best. TQ SPOILERS, unusual pairing. One-Shot


**The Next Best Thing**

_**AN:** Originally written for Daphne (Skyflyer)'s Christmas exchange. Contains squick, contains TQ spoilers. One-shot. Disturbing pairing. You have been warned._

)O(

Aly Homewood let out a roar of pure frustration. The code sitting in front of her wasn't really even a hard one. In fact, it should have taken her less than an hour to crack it. If only she could _concentrate_.

Unfortunately, it seemed that concentration would not be with her that night. Annoyed with herself, Aly decided that a little rest could do her some good. Surely the rebellion wouldn't miss terribly the work of one girl for half an hour or so. Gladly setting down her paperworks, Aly walked out of her office and into the fresh evening air of the Balitang gardens.

She sat down on a stone bench by the flowerbed, combing her hand absently through her short copper hair and thinking about nothing in particular. 'Nothing in particular', however, soon faded away to reveal a handsome but mischievous face. Aly sighed, the true reason why her mind was so skitterish revealed to her. She missed Nawat.

"What's wrong?" Aly jumped, not realizing she had company. She turned swiftly, her right hand drifting automatically towards her belt knife.

She relaxed upon seeing who the speaker was. "Oh, Kyprioth. It's just you."

"It's _just_ me?" Kyprioth cocked an eyebrow. "Need I remind you that I am a god?"

"No, I think you make that point pretty clear." Aly replied with an amused smile.

"So," Kyprioth sat himself down beside her with a dramatic flourish. "What's wrong?"

"Why do you care?" Aly asked instead, raising a curious eyebrow. "Why are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you be hiding from your siblings?"

"They're still too busy looking for their shields to worry about me," he replied with a shrug. "And I care because happier servants do better jobs."

Aly snorted. "I am in no way your servant," she retorted. "Just a poor girl doing your bidding out of the goodness of her heart."

Kyprioth grinned also, but stayed persistent. "You're not going to distract me, Aly. Tell me what's on your mind."

She replied, after a beat of silence. "I miss Nawat, if you must know."

"I see." The god nodded slowly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not unless you can bring Nawat back." Aly replied wryly.

Kyprioth was silent for only a few seconds. When Aly looked again, he had dropped his usual appearance and changed it to look exactly like Nawat. She rolled her eyes, slightly exasperated but still amused.

"I can't bring you Nawat, Aly." Kyprioth told her softly. "But I can come fairly close. And I did mean it when I said happier people did better jobs."

Aly turned so she was face-to-face with the god, fully intent on telling him that this was not what she meant. Her decided skeptism melted with one look at those dark eyes, and that very familiar face.

A new and completely strange feeling rose within Aly. It wasn't the kind of love she felt with Nawat. No, it was rather a spontaneous fire, the kind lit by romantic evenings under the unveiling moon.

If questioned later, Aly would be hard put to name a particular reason why she did what she did next. It was a mixture of so many reasons, but none at all. Whatever her reason was, or wasn't, she gently leant closer to Kyprioth and planted a firm but tender kiss on his lips.

Aly drew back a little as if awaiting his affirmation, but leant back before he had time to move. This time, she linked her hands behind his neck and kissed him again, prolonging their contact.

He reacted, kissing her back with equal firmness, caressing her lips with his gently. She carried him for a while more, feeling his fire, letting everything else go.

Now he lead her, making her follow, making her react to his every intimate move. She did, lending herself to a type of love she hadn't felt since she left her home, almost a year ago. They stayed like that for a few moments; long enough for Aly to almost convince herself it was real. Almost.

Aly pulled away. "This is a mistake," she said, panting slightly and turning away. Kyprioth sat silently, watching her with mild concern.

A new light dawned in her eyes, one with as much hope as pain. "But if I'm going to make a mistake, I don't want to be lied to as well. I don't want Nawat. I want Kyprioth."

Nawat's dark eyes glinted for a second with something Aly didn't quite recognise. The look soon disappeared, and Nawat turned into the old man Aly was so familiar with. The same salt-and-pepper hair, the same lean figure, the same dark dancing eyes. She gave a small giddy sigh.

They merged again, this time with more passion and less hesitation. Aly knew she would regret this later, this small piece of unplanned passion. If nothing else, she should really get back to work.

However bad she might feel, she couldn't even try to make it matter. Because that moment, at least, was perfect.

)O(


End file.
